France Day 7 - Rouen and Normandy

Jun 26, 2017

Today was another beautiful day in France. We started the day with a buffet breakfast on our ship and then took a walk into Rouen. Rouen dates back to 744 AD when the Roman Catholic archdiocese created this city. In 1841 the Vikings overran Rouen and found the colony led by Rollo who was nominated count of Rouen by the king of Franks in 911. The young French heroine Joan of arc was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in the old market Square in 1431. Rouen was decimated several times during the middle ages by fire and plague, and later in World War II when the streets south of the cathedral were destroyed. In the last 60 years, the city has been restored to its former glory.

Our walk brought us to a market area where we were able to see a beautiful clock tower and view the inside and outside of Rouen's beautiful Cathedral Notre-Dame de Rouen. The cathedral had to take many of its statues off of the side of the structure because they were decaying from pollution. They are now restoring all of these statues of the saints that were on the outside of the church and keeping them inside. The restoration process is a very lengthy process because the statues are covered in black. This black damage, from pollution, has to be scraped off while trying not to damage the statues. There is also a memorial area, inside the church, to Joan of Arc.

After our walk we were able to take a tour to a Norman farm. We watched a herding dog presentation and were able to experience the daily life of a working Norman cider farm. We were able to enjoy a delicious apple tart and had a cheese tasting. The farm dates back to 1750.

We are looking forward to touring Normandy beaches tomorrow. My internet connection is still not allowing me to upload photos.